Tire damage detection system and method

ABSTRACT

The invention concerns a system and a method for detecting potential damages to tires of motor vehicles due to impacts against/on obstacles.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a system and a method for detectingpotential damages to tires of motor vehicles due to impacts against/onobstacles.

STATE OF THE ART

As is known, an impact of a wheel of a motor vehicle against/on anobstacle, such as a sidewalk, a pothole or a speed bump, can cause adamage to the tire of the wheel, in particular to the carcass (i.e., thecasing) of the tire.

In particular, an externally visible bulge on the sidewall of a tiretypically indicates that cords have been broken inside the carcass dueto an impact against/on an obstacle. In fact, driving on objects likecurbs, speed bumps and potholes can cause individual cords to break.

If a damaged tire (e.g., a tire with some damaged cords) is not promptlydetected and, hence, is not promptly repaired/replaced, by keeping ondriving with said damaged tire there is a risk of completelybreaking/destroying the carcass of the tire and even of damaging thewheel rim and/or the suspension (for example, in case of further impactsof the damaged tire against/on other obstacles).

Therefore, in the automotive sector there is markedly felt the need fortire damage detection technologies capable of automatically and promptlydetecting potential damages to tires of motor vehicles.

For example, a known solution of this kind is provided in DE 10 2016 105281 A1, which relates to a wheel impact sensing and driver warningsystem. In particular, DE 10 2016 105 281 A1 discloses a wheel impactsensing system of a vehicle, which wheel impact sensing system includes:

-   -   at least one sensor measuring an acceleration of a vehicle wheel        resulting from an impact to the vehicle wheel;    -   a processor determining a severity of the impact to the vehicle        wheel as function of the acceleration measurement; and    -   an output device alerting a driver to potential damage of the        vehicle wheel based on the determined impact severity to the        vehicle wheel.

OBJECT AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Object of the present invention is that of providing a technology forperforming tire damage detection in a more efficient and reliable waythan currently known tire damage detection technologies, such as thatone according to DE 10 2016 105 281 A1.

This and other objects are achieved by the present invention in that itrelates to a tire damage detection system and a tire damage detectionmethod, as defined in the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a better understanding of the present invention, preferredembodiments, which are intended purely by way of non-limiting examples,will now be described with reference to the attached drawings (all notto scale), where:

FIG. 1 shows examples of wheel speeds in case of impacts against/onobstacles, such as sidewalks and speed bumps, at different motor vehiclespeeds;

FIG. 2 shows examples of normalized wheel speeds in case of impactsagainst/on obstacles, such as sidewalks and speed bumps, at differentmotor vehicle speeds;

FIG. 3 shows examples of relative peak-to-peak differences in thenormalized wheel speed as a function of motor vehicle speed;

FIG. 4 schematically illustrates a tire damage detection systemaccording to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; and

FIGS. 5 and 6 schematically illustrate two specific preferredembodiments of the tire damage detection system of FIG. 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

The following discussion is presented to enable a person skilled in theart to make and use the invention. Various modifications to theembodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art,without departing from the scope of the present invention as claimed.Thence, the present invention is not intended to be limited to theembodiments shown and described, but is to be accorded the widest scopeof protection consistent with the principles and features disclosedherein and defined in the appended claims.

The Applicant has carried out an in-depth study in order to conceive anddevelop an innovative tire damage detection technology with improvedefficiency and reliability with respect to the existing solutions.During this in-depth study the Applicant has performed several testswith different obstacles (e.g., sidewalks, speed bumps and potholes) atdifferent motor vehicle speeds (e.g., from 40 km/h up to 90 km/h),wherein, for each test, motor vehicle speeds and wheel speeds have beenacquired/measured. In this respect, FIG. 1 shows examples of wheelspeeds acquired/measured during the performed tests in case of impactsagainst/on obstacles, such as sidewalks and speed bumps, at differentmotor vehicle speeds.

Each acquired/measured wheel speed has been normalized with respect tothe corresponding motor vehicle speed, so as to obtain a percentageratio of the wheel speed to the corresponding motor vehicle speed. Inthis respect, FIG. 2 shows examples of normalized wheel speeds computedduring the performed tests in case of impacts against/on obstacles, suchas sidewalks and speed bumps, at different motor vehicle speeds. Asshown in FIG. 2, in case of impact against/on a sidewalk or a speedbump, the normalized wheel speed assumes a local minimum value and thena local maximum value. Moreover, from other tests performed withobstacles different from sidewalks and speed bumps, such as potholes,the Applicant has observed an “opposite” behavior of the normalizedwheel speed, namely the presence, at first, of a local maximum valueand, then, of a local minimum value.

Therefore, from the results of the performed tests, the Applicant hasinferred that the presence of two successive opposite peaks of thenormalized wheel speed is indicative of an impact of the wheelagainst/on an obstacle. Additionally, the Applicant has also noticedthat the time distance between two successive opposite peaks of thenormalized wheel speed, which are indicative of an impact of the wheelagainst/on an obstacle, decreases as the motor vehicle speed increases.

Thence, the Applicant has had the smart idea of exploiting thesecharacteristics to detect damages to tires. In this connection, FIG. 3shows examples of relative peak-to-peak differences in the normalizedwheel speed as a function of the motor vehicle speed. The graph in FIG.3 substantially presents a negative exponential trend of the typey=Ce^(−αx).

Therefore, starting from the above observations, deductions andintuitions, the Applicant has conceived a tire damage detection methodincluding a preliminary step and a tire damage detection step, whereinthe preliminary step comprises:

-   -   performing tests involving test tire impacts against/on        different obstacles at different motor vehicle speeds; and    -   determining, based on results of the performed tests, one or        more predefined tire damage models to be used in the tire damage        detection step to detect potential damages to one or more tires        of a motor vehicle.

In particular, starting from the above general methodology, theApplicant has conceived three preferred implementations of the tiredamage detection step that will be described in detail hereinafter.

To this end, FIG. 4 schematically illustrates (in particular, by meansof a block diagram) a functional architecture of a tire damage detectionsystem (denoted as a whole by 1) according to a preferred embodiment ofthe present invention.

In particular, the tire damage detection system 1 includes:

-   -   an acquisition device 11, which is        -   installed on board a motor vehicle (not shown in FIG.            4—e.g., a scooter, a motorbike, a car, a van, a truck, etc.)            equipped with two or more wheels, each fitted with a tire,            and        -   coupled to a vehicle bus 20 (e.g., based on Controller Area            Network (CAN) bus standard) of said motor vehicle; and    -   a processing device/system 12, which is        -   connected, in a wired or wireless fashion, to the            acquisition device 11, and        -   configured to store a predefined tire damage model (that, as            previously explained, has been determined in the preliminary            step).

According to a first preferred implementation of the tire damagedetection step,

-   -   the acquisition device 11 is configured to        -   acquire, from the vehicle bus 20, signals indicative of            speeds of the motor vehicle and of a wheel of said motor            vehicle (conveniently, speed signals expressed in kilometres            or miles per hour), and        -   output quantities indicative of the speeds of the motor            vehicle and of the wheel thereof; and    -   the processing device/system 12 is configured to receive, from        the acquisition device 11, the quantities indicative of the        speeds of the motor vehicle and of the wheel of said motor        vehicle, and is programmed to    -   compute, based on the quantities indicative of the speeds of the        motor vehicle and of the wheel thereof, a first normalized wheel        speed indicative of a ratio (preferably, a percentage ratio) of        the wheel speed to the motor vehicle speed, and    -   detect a potential damage to a tire of the wheel of the motor        vehicle (e.g., a potential damage to carcass/cords of the tire)        based on the predefined tire damage model and on the first        normalized wheel speed.

For example, the following mathematical formula may be conveniently usedto compute the first normalized wheel speed at a generic time instantt_(k):v _(N1)(t _(k))=(v _(W)(t _(k))*100)/v _(V)(t _(k)),where v_(N1)(t_(k)), v_(W)(t_(k)) and v_(V)(t_(k)) denote, respectively,the first normalized wheel speed, the wheel speed and the motor vehiclespeed at said generic time instant t_(k).

Preferably, the predefined tire damage model includes a set of firstpredefined thresholds related to different motor vehicle speed valuesand a set of first predefined time lengths related to different motorvehicle speed values (wherein said first predefined thresholds and saidfirst predefined time lengths are conveniently determined in thepreliminary step). Moreover, the processing device/system 12 ispreferably programmed to:

-   -   select one of the first predefined thresholds and one of the        first predefined time lengths depending on the motor vehicle        speed;    -   analyse the first normalized wheel speed by means of a first        sliding time window having the first predefined time length        selected;    -   detect a maximum value and a minimum value of the first        normalized wheel speed within the first sliding time window; and    -   detect a potential damage to the tire of the wheel of the motor        vehicle if a difference between said maximum and minimum values        exceeds the first predefined threshold selected.

In other words, the actual first predefined threshold and the actualfirst predefined time length used by the processing device/system 12for, respectively, the tire damage detection and the first sliding timewindow are selected, by said processing device/system 12, depending onthe actual motor vehicle speed value.

Moreover, the tire damage detection may be conveniently based also ontire inflation pressure (in fact, the risk of damage to a tire increasesas the tire inflation pressure decreases). In this case, the acquisitiondevice 11 is conveniently configured to:

-   -   acquire, from the vehicle bus 20, also a signal indicative of a        tire inflation pressure of the tire of the wheel of the motor        vehicle; and    -   output quantities indicative of said tire inflation pressure.

Additionally, the first predefined thresholds are conveniently relatedto different motor vehicle speed values and different tire inflationpressure values, and the processing device/system 12 is convenientlyconfigured to receive, from the acquisition device 11, also thequantities indicative of the tire inflation pressure, and isconveniently programmed to select one of the first predefined thresholdsdepending on the motor vehicle speed and the tire inflation pressure.

In other words, the actual first predefined threshold used by theprocessing device/system 12 for the tire damage detection is selected,by said processing device/system 12, depending on the actual motorvehicle speed value and the actual tire inflation pressure value.

Instead, according to a second preferred implementation of the tiredamage detection step,

-   -   the acquisition device 11 is configured to        -   acquire, from the vehicle bus 20, a signal indicative of a            speed of a wheel of the motor vehicle (conveniently, a wheel            speed signal expressed in kilometres or miles per hour), and        -   output quantities indicative of the wheel speed; and    -   the processing device/system 12 is configured to receive, from        the acquisition device 11, the quantities indicative of the        wheel speed, and is programmed to        -   compute, based on the quantities indicative of the wheel            speed, a second normalized wheel speed indicative of a ratio            (preferably, a percentage ratio) of the wheel speed to an            average wheel speed indicative of the motor vehicle speed,            and        -   detect a potential damage to a tire of the wheel of the            motor vehicle based on the predefined tire damage model and            on the second normalized wheel speed.

For example, the following mathematical formula may be conveniently usedto compute the second normalized wheel speed at a generic time instantt_(k):v _(N2)(t _(k))=(v _(W)(t _(k))*100)/v _(A)(t _(k)),where v_(N2)(t_(k)) and v_(W)(t_(k)) denote, respectively, the secondnormalized wheel speed and the wheel speed at the generic time instantt_(k), while v_(A)(t_(k)) denotes an average wheel speed associated withsaid generic time instant t_(k). Conveniently, the average wheel speedv_(A)(t_(k)) may be computed as an average of a plurality of wheel speedvalues at time instants that may precede and/or follow the generic timeinstant t_(k), wherein said plurality of wheel speed values may alsocomprise the wheel speed value at the generic time instant t_(k).

Preferably, the predefined tire damage model includes a set of secondpredefined thresholds related to different average wheel speed valuesand a set of second predefined time lengths related to different averagewheel speed values (wherein said second predefined thresholds and saidsecond predefined time lengths are conveniently determined in thepreliminary step). Moreover, the processing device/system 12 ispreferably programmed to:

-   -   select one of the second predefined thresholds and one of the        second predefined time lengths depending on the average wheel        speed;    -   analyse the second normalized wheel speed by means of a second        sliding time window having the second predefined time length        selected;    -   detect a maximum value and a minimum value of the second        normalized wheel speed within the second sliding time window;        and    -   detect a potential damage to the tire of the wheel of the motor        vehicle if a difference between said maximum and minimum values        exceeds the second predefined threshold selected.

Moreover, also according to the second preferred implementation of thetire damage detection step, the tire damage detection may beconveniently based also on tire inflation pressure. In this case, theacquisition device 11 is conveniently configured to:

-   -   acquire, from the vehicle bus 20, also a signal indicative of a        tire inflation pressure of the tire of the wheel of the motor        vehicle; and    -   output quantities indicative of said tire inflation pressure.

Additionally, the second predefined thresholds are conveniently relatedto different average wheel speed values and different tire inflationpressure values, and the processing device/system 12 is convenientlyconfigured to receive, from the acquisition device 11, also thequantities indicative of the tire inflation pressure, and isconveniently programmed to select one of the second predefinedthresholds depending on the average wheel speed and the tire inflationpressure.

Instead, according to a third preferred implementation of the tiredamage detection step,

-   -   the acquisition device 11 is configured to        -   acquire, from the vehicle bus 20, a signal indicative of a            speed of a wheel of the motor vehicle (conveniently, a wheel            speed signal expressed in kilometres or miles per hour), and        -   output quantities indicative of the wheel speed;    -   the predefined tire damage model includes a set of third        predefined thresholds related to different reference wheel speed        values and a set of third predefined time lengths related to        different reference wheel speed values (wherein said third        predefined thresholds and said third predefined time lengths are        conveniently determined in the preliminary step); and    -   the processing device/system 12 is configured to receive, from        the acquisition device 11, the quantities indicative of the        wheel speed, and is programmed to        -   analyse the wheel speed by means of a third sliding time            window,        -   select one of the third predefined thresholds and one of the            third predefined time lengths based on a given reference            wheel speed value that is a wheel speed value, or an average            of wheel speed values, immediately preceding and/or            following the third sliding time window (said given            reference wheel speed value being assumed to be indicative            of the motor vehicle speed), wherein said third sliding time            window has the third predefined time length selected,        -   detect a maximum value and a minimum value of the wheel            speed within the third sliding time window,        -   compute a difference between said maximum and minimum            values,        -   compute a ratio of the difference between said maximum and            minimum values to the given reference wheel speed value, and        -   detect a potential damage to the tire of the wheel of the            motor vehicle if the ratio of the difference between said            maximum and minimum values to the given reference wheel            speed value exceeds the third predefined threshold selected.

Moreover, also according to the third preferred implementation of thetire damage detection step, the tire damage detection may beconveniently based also on tire inflation pressure. In this case, theacquisition device 11 is conveniently configured to:

-   -   acquire, from the vehicle bus 20, also a signal indicative of a        tire inflation pressure of the tire of the wheel of the motor        vehicle; and    -   output quantities indicative of said tire inflation pressure.

Additionally, the third predefined thresholds are conveniently relatedto different reference wheel speed values and different tire inflationpressure values, and the processing device/system 12 is convenientlyconfigured to receive, from the acquisition device 11, also thequantities indicative of the tire inflation pressure, and isconveniently programmed to select one of the third predefined thresholdsdepending on the given reference wheel speed value and the tireinflation pressure.

According to the first, second and third preferred implementations ofthe tire damage detection step, the acquisition device 11 may beconveniently configured to produce the quantities indicative of thewheel speed by sampling the signal indicative of said speed acquiredfrom the vehicle bus 20 with a sampling frequency equal to or higherthan 50 Hz, preferably equal to or higher than 100 Hz.

Moreover, according to the first preferred implementation of the tiredamage detection step, the acquisition device 11 may be convenientlyconfigured to produce the quantities indicative of the motor vehiclespeed by sampling the signal indicative of said speed acquired from thevehicle bus 20 with the same sampling frequency as the one used for thewheel speed, or with a lower sampling frequency (e.g., 5 or 10 Hz).

Again with reference to FIG. 4, the tire damage detection system 1further includes a notification device 13 configured to, if a potentialdamage to the tire of the wheel of the motor vehicle is detected by theprocessing device/system 12, inform a user associated with said motorvehicle (e.g., a driver and/or an owner thereof) of the potential damagedetected.

From the foregoing, it is immediately clear to those skilled in the artthat the tire damage detection system 1 may be conveniently configuredto perform the tire damage detection for each wheel of the motorvehicle. In fact, to this end:

-   -   the acquisition device 11 may be conveniently configured to        acquire signals and, then, output quantities indicative of the        speed of each wheel of the motor vehicle;    -   the processing device/system 12 may be conveniently programmed        to apply the aforesaid detection operations to the speed of each        wheel of the motor vehicle; and    -   the notification device 13 may be conveniently configured to, in        case of detected potential damage to a tire of a wheel of the        motor vehicle, signal to the user which tire is damaged.

Conveniently, the processing device/system 12 may store:

-   -   a single predefined tire damage model to be used for all the        wheels of the motor vehicle; or    -   different predefined tire damage models, such as a respective        predefined tire damage model for each wheel, or two different        predefined tire damage models, one to be used for the front        wheels and the other for the rear ones.

FIGS. 5 and 6 schematically illustrate two specific preferredembodiments of the tire damage detection system 1.

In particular, with reference to FIG. 5, in a first specific preferredembodiment (denoted as a whole by 1A) of the tire damage detectionsystem 1:

-   -   the processing device/system 12 is implemented/carried out by        means of a cloud computing system 12A that is wirelessly and        remotely connected to the acquisition device 11 (e.g., via one        or more mobile communications technologies, such as GSM, GPRS,        EDGE, HSPA, UMTS, LTE, LTE Advanced and/or future 5^(th)        generation (or even beyond) wireless communications systems);        and    -   the notification device 13 is implemented/carried out by means        of an electronic communication device 13A (such as a smartphone,        a tablet, a laptop, a desktop computer, a smart TV, a        smartwatch, etc.), which is associated with (e.g., owned and/or        used by) the user (in FIG. 5 denoted by 3) associated with the        motor vehicle (in FIG. 5 denoted by 2), and which is remotely        connected to the cloud computing system 12A via one or more        wired and/or wireless networks.

Preferably, the cloud computing system 12A is programmed to, if itdetects a potential damage to a tire of a wheel of the motor vehicle 2,send a damage notification to the electronic communication device 13Athat provides the user 3 with said damage notification. For example, thenotification device 13 may conveniently be a smartphone or tablet onwhich a software application (i.e., a so-called app) is installed, whichapp is configured to receive, from the cloud computing system 12A, apush notification indicating a detected potential damage. Other types ofdamage notification may be also used, such as SMS messages, emailmessages or, more in general, messages of text and/or audio and/or imageand/or video and/or multimedia type(s).

It is worth noting that the cloud computing system 12A may beadvantageously used to provide many motor vehicles 2 and, hence, manyusers 3 with a tire damage detection service.

Instead, with reference to FIG. 6, in a second specific preferredembodiment (denoted as a whole by 1B) of the tire damage detectionsystem 1:

-   -   the processing device/system 12 is implemented/carried out by        means of an (automotive) Electronic Control Unit (ECU) 12B        installed on board the motor vehicle 2; and    -   the notification device 13 is implemented/carried out by means        of a Human-Machine Interface (HMI) 13B provided on board the        motor vehicle 2.

In said second specific preferred embodiment 1B, the ECU 12B mayconveniently inform a driver of the motor vehicle 2 of a detectedpotential damage to a tire of a wheel of said motor vehicle 2 via agraphical and/or sound alert produced by the HMI 13B (which, thence, mayconveniently comprise a screen and/or a graphical/sound warningindicator).

The ECU 12B may conveniently be an ECU specifically dedicated to thetire damage detection, or an ECU dedicated to several tasks includingalso the tire damage detection.

Similarly, the HMI 13B may conveniently be a HMI specifically dedicatedto the tire damage detection, or a HMI dedicated to several tasksincluding also the tire damage detection (e.g., a HMI of an onboardinfotelematics and/or driver assistance system).

Again with reference to the tire damage detection method according tothe present invention, the tire damage detection step comprisesoperating the tire damage detection system 1 to detect potential damagesto one or more tires of the motor vehicle 2. Moreover, also thepreliminary step may be carried out according to three preferredimplementations corresponding to the three preferred implementations ofthe tire damage detection step.

In particular, according to a first preferred implementation of thepreliminary step, said preliminary step comprises:

-   -   performing tests involving test tire impacts against/on        different obstacles at different motor vehicle speeds;    -   measuring/acquiring test-related wheel and motor vehicle speeds        during the performed tests;    -   computing test-related normalized wheel speeds based on the        test-related wheel and motor vehicle speeds; and    -   determining the predefined tire damage model(s) (conveniently,        the first predefined thresholds and time lengths) to be used by        the tire damage detection system 1 in the tire damage detection        step on the basis of the test-related normalized wheel speeds        and the test-related motor vehicle speeds that correspond to the        test tire impacts.

Instead, according to a second preferred implementation of thepreliminary step, said preliminary step comprises:

-   -   performing tests involving test tire impacts against/on        different obstacles at different motor vehicle speeds;    -   measuring/acquiring test-related wheel speeds during the        performed tests;    -   computing test-related normalized wheel speeds based on the        test-related wheel speeds; and    -   determining the predefined tire damage model(s) (conveniently,        the second predefined thresholds and time lengths) to be used by        the tire damage detection system 1 in the tire damage detection        step on the basis of the test-related normalized wheel speeds        corresponding to the test tire impacts and of associated        test-related average wheel speeds.

Finally, according to a third preferred implementation of thepreliminary step, said preliminary step comprises:

-   -   performing tests involving test tire impacts against/on        different obstacles at different motor vehicle speeds;    -   measuring/acquiring test-related wheel speeds during the        performed tests; and    -   determining the predefined tire damage model(s) (conveniently,        the third predefined thresholds and time lengths) to be used by        the tire damage detection system 1 in the tire damage detection        step on the basis of the test-related wheel speeds corresponding        to the test tire impacts and of associated test-related        reference wheel speed values.

Conveniently, according to the first, second and third preferredimplementations of the preliminary step, said preliminary step mayfurther comprise:

-   -   measuring/acquiring also test-related tire inflation pressures        during the performed tests; and    -   determining the predefined tire damage model(s) (conveniently,        the first/second/third predefined thresholds) based also on the        test-related tire inflation pressures measured/acquired during        the performed tests.

In view of the foregoing, it is clear that the tire damage detectionsystem and method according to the present invention allow performing areal-time, extremely efficient and highly reliable tire damagedetection. In this respect, it is worth noting that the presentinvention allows also tuning tire damage detection reliability accordingto a desired reliability degree. In fact, many different reliabilitylevels can be chosen and, hence, implemented for the tire damagedetection. For example, in the simplest case, a single tire damage modelcould be determined in the preliminary step and then used in the tiredamage detection step for all tire models and all motor vehicles.Instead, in order to increase tire damage detection reliability, arespective tire damage model may be determined in the preliminary stepfor each tire model (thereby taking account of specific tire features,such as specific tire dimensions) and then used in the tire damagedetection step for motor vehicles fitted with said tire model. Moreover,in order to further increase tire damage detection reliability, evendifferent tire damage models can be determined for each tire model(e.g., to take account of different positions, such as front/rear and/orright/left) and then selectively used in the tire damage detection stepfor motor vehicles fitted with said tire model. Additionally, furtherreliability improvements might be obtained by taking account also ofspecific features of different motor vehicles and/or of geometricalfeatures of different obstacles.

Moreover, it is worth also noting that the tire damage model(s) may beadvantageously updated in the tire damage detection step based on falsepositive errors and false negative errors (i.e., detected potentialdamages that do not correspond to actual damages to tires, and actualdamages to tires that are not detected), thereby improving tire damagedetection reliability. For example, in case of an actual damage to atire that has not been detected, the driver could take a picture of thedamaged tire by means of his/her smartphone/tablet and then send thepicture to a server dedicated to receiving user feedbacks.

From the foregoing, the technical advantages and the innovative featuresof the present invention are immediately clear to those skilled in theart.

In particular, it is important to stress the point that the presentinvention allows performing a real-time, extremely efficient and highlyreliable tire damage detection. More specifically, the present inventionallows carrying out tire damage detection in a more efficient andreliable way than currently known tire damage detection technologies,such as that one according to DE 10 2016 105 281 A1.

Additionally, the present invention allows tuning tire damage detectionreliability according to a desired reliability degree.

In conclusion, it is clear that numerous modifications and variants canbe made to the present invention, all falling within the scope of theinvention, as defined in the appended claims.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A tire damage detection system comprising:an acquisition device coupled to a vehicle bus of a motor vehicleequipped with two or more wheels fitted with tires, and configured toacquire, from the vehicle bus, a signal indicative of a speed of a wheelof the motor vehicle and output quantities indicative of the wheelspeed; and a processing system configured to store a predefined tiredamage model that includes a set of predefined thresholds related todifferent reference wheel speed values and a set of predefined timelengths related to different reference wheel speed values, receive, fromthe acquisition device, the quantities indicative of the wheel speed,analyse the wheel speed via a sliding time window, select one of thepredefined thresholds and one of the predefined time lengths based on agiven reference wheel speed value that is a wheel speed value, or anaverage of wheel speed values, immediately preceding and/or followingthe third sliding time window, wherein said sliding time window has thepredefined time length selected, detect a maximum value and a minimumvalue of the wheel speed within the sliding time window, compute adifference between said maximum and minimum values, compute a ratio ofthe difference between said maximum and minimum values to the givenreference wheel speed value, and detect a potential damage to a tire ofthe wheel of the motor vehicle if the ratio of the difference betweensaid maximum and minimum values to the given reference wheel speed valueexceeds the selected predefined threshold.
 2. The tire damage detectionsystem of claim 1, wherein: the acquisition device is configured tofurther acquire, from the vehicle bus, a signal indicative of a tireinflation pressure of the tire of the wheel of the motor vehicle, andoutput quantities indicative of said tire inflation pressure; thepredefined thresholds are related to different reference wheel speedvalues and different tire inflation pressure values; and the processingsystem is configured to further receive, from the acquisition device,the quantities indicative of the tire inflation pressure, and select oneof the predefined thresholds depending on the given reference wheelspeed value and the tire inflation pressure.
 3. The tire damagedetection system of claim 1, further comprising a notification deviceconfigured to, if a potential damage to the tire of the wheel of themotor vehicle is detected by the processing system, signal the detectedpotential damage to a user associated with the motor vehicle.
 4. Thetire damage detection system of claim 3, wherein: the processing systemis a cloud computing system that is wirelessly and remotely connected tothe acquisition device; and the notification device is an electroniccommunication device associated with the user and remotely connected tothe cloud computing system.
 5. The tire damage detection system of claim3, wherein: the processing system is an electronic control unitinstalled onboard the motor vehicle; and the notification device is ahuman-machine interface provided onboard the motor vehicle.
 6. A methodof tire damage detection, comprising: acquiring, via a vehicle bus of amotor vehicle equipped with two or more wheels fitted with tires, asignal indicative of a speed of a wheel of the motor vehicle; storing apredefined tire damage model that includes a set of predefinedthresholds related to different reference wheel speed values and a setof predefined time lengths related to different reference wheel speedvalues; analysing the wheel speed via a sliding time window; selectingone of the predefined thresholds and one of the predefined time lengthsbased on a given reference wheel speed value that is a wheel speedvalue, or an average of wheel speed values, immediately preceding and/orfollowing the third sliding time window, wherein said sliding timewindow has the predefined time length selected, detecting a maximumvalue and a minimum value of the wheel speed within the sliding timewindow; computing a difference between said maximum and minimum values;computing a ratio of the difference between said maximum and minimumvalues to the given reference wheel speed value; and detecting apotential damage to a tire of the wheel of the motor vehicle if theratio of the difference between said maximum and minimum values to thegiven reference wheel speed value exceeds the selected predefinedthreshold.
 7. The method of claim 6, comprising: further acquiring, viathe vehicle bus, a signal indicative of a tire inflation pressure of thetire of the wheel of the motor vehicle; wherein the predefinedthresholds are related to different reference wheel speed values anddifferent tire inflation pressure values; and selecting one of thepredefined thresholds depending on the given reference wheel speed valueand the tire inflation pressure.
 8. The method of claim 6, furthercomprising: if a potential damage to the tire of the wheel of the motorvehicle is detected, signalling the detected potential damage to a userassociated with the motor vehicle.
 9. The method of claim 8, furthercomprising a preliminary stage, wherein said preliminary stagecomprises: performing tests involving test tire impacts against or ondifferent obstacles at different motor vehicle speeds; acquiringtest-related wheel speeds during the performed tests; and determiningone or more predefined tire damage models to be used based on thetest-related wheel speeds corresponding to the test tire impacts and ofassociated test-related reference wheel speed values.
 10. The method ofclaim 9, wherein the preliminary stage further comprises: furtheracquiring test-related tire inflation pressures during the performedtests; and determining the one or more predefined tire damage modelsfurther based on the test-related tire inflation pressures acquiredduring the performed tests.
 11. The method of claim 8, furthercomprising a preliminary stage, wherein said preliminary stagecomprises: performing tests involving test tire impacts against or ondifferent obstacles at different motor vehicle speeds; acquiringtest-related wheel speeds during the performed tests; computingtest-related normalized wheel speeds based on the test-related wheel andmotor vehicle speeds; and determining one or more predefined tire damagemodels to be used based on the test-related normalized wheel speeds andthe test-related motor vehicle speeds that correspond to the test tireimpacts.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the preliminary stagefurther comprises: further acquiring test-related tire inflationpressures during the performed tests; and determining the one or morepredefined tire damage models further based on the test-related tireinflation pressures acquired during the performed tests.
 13. The methodof claim 8, further comprising a preliminary stage, wherein saidpreliminary stage comprises: performing tests involving test tireimpacts against or on different obstacles at different motor vehiclespeeds; acquiring test-related wheel speeds during the performed tests;computing test-related normalized wheel speeds based on the test-relatedwheel speeds; and determining one or more predefined tire damage modelsto be used based on the test-related normalized wheel speedscorresponding to the test tire impacts and of associated test-relatedaverage wheel speeds.
 14. The method of claim 13, wherein thepreliminary stage further comprises: further acquiring test-related tireinflation pressures during the performed tests; and determining the oneor more predefined tire damage models further based on the test-relatedtire inflation pressures acquired during the performed tests.
 15. Acloud computing system wirelessly and remotely connected to anacquisition device of a motor vehicle equipped with two or more wheelsfitted with tires, and configured to store one or more predefined tiredamage models that each include a set of predefined thresholds relatedto different reference wheel speed values and a set of predefined timelengths related to different reference wheel speed values; acquire, fromthe acquisition device, quantities indicative of a speed of a wheel ofthe motor vehicle; analyse the wheel speed via a sliding time window;select one of the predefined thresholds and one of the predefined timelengths based on a given reference wheel speed value that is a wheelspeed value, or an average of wheel speed values, immediately precedingand/or following the third sliding time window, wherein said slidingtime window has the predefined time length selected; detect a maximumvalue and a minimum value of the wheel speed within the sliding timewindow; compute a difference between said maximum and minimum values;compute a ratio of the difference between said maximum and minimumvalues to the given reference wheel speed value; and detect a potentialdamage to a tire of the wheel of the motor vehicle if the ratio of thedifference between said maximum and minimum values to the givenreference wheel speed value exceeds the selected predefined threshold.16. The cloud computing system of claim 12, configured to: furtheracquire, from the acquisition device, output quantities indicative of atire inflation pressure of the tire of the wheel of the motor vehicle,wherein the predefined thresholds are related to different referencewheel speed values and different tire inflation pressure values; andselect one of the predefined thresholds depending on the given referencewheel speed value and the tire inflation pressure.
 17. The cloudcomputing system of claim 12, further remotely connected to anelectronic communication device associated with a user associated withthe motor vehicle and configured, if a potential damage to the tire ofthe wheel of the motor vehicle is detected, to signal the detectedpotential damage to the user via the electronic communication device.